Ultimate Chicken and Dumplings

Operation no sugar has been going ok. After today I will have finished up my 5th day. Yay! I actually made a really yummy sugar free treat today. I will share that with you soon. But first...let's talk Chicken n'Dumplings.

A while ago I remember watching Tyler Florence's show "Tyler's Ultimate" and I saw him make Chicken and Dumplings. They looked amazing. I finally got around to making them about a week ago. They were de-e-li-ciouos!!! I was a little intimidated to make the dumplings but they were easy peasy. To cut a lot of the work and time out of this recipe I just used a store bought rotisserie chicken and used store bought stock. I did discover something interesting about the recipe though. After I was done making the sauce it looked so yummy I couldn't wait to try it. Luckily I did before I served it because it had no flavor! It was so bland. I knew I had done everything right, but just to make sure I re-read the recipe over and over. I finally realized-he calls for no salt in the sauce! It has to be a mistake. So I added salt and it was fine. But next time I am going to saute the carrots and celery with the salt, I think it gives dishes a much better flavor when you layer the salt in, as opposed to just throwing it all in at the end, which sometimes gives the dish just a salty flavor.

Hope you are all having a wonderful beginning to a new year and are sticking to your resolutions :) So far I'm sticking to mine-which is crazy cause we all know how I like me some cupcakes:)


Chicken and Dumplings
by Tyler Florence

Ingredients
Chicken and Stock:

* 1 (3 to 31/2 pound) whole organic chicken
* 2 bay leaves
* 6 sprigs thyme
* 4 to 5 black peppercorns
* 1 head garlic, split through the equator
* 2 tablespoons salt

Directions

Buttermilk-Chive Dumplings:

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 eggs
* 1/4 cup chopped chives
* 3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk

Sauce:

* 2 tablespoons butter
* 2 tablespoons oil
* 2 carrots, diced
* 2 stalks celery, diced
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 bay leaves
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 6 cups chicken stock
* 1 cup frozen peas
* 1 cup frozen pearl onions
* 1/4 cup heavy cream
* Freshly ground black pepper, for garnish
* Chopped chives, for garnish

For the stock:

Place the chicken and all stock ingredients in a large Dutch oven and cover with water. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 1 hour until the chicken is tender. Skim the surface of fat and scum as it cooks.

When done remove the chicken to a cutting board. Strain the stock and shred the meat into big pieces - the stock will be used for the sauce and the chicken will be folded into it.

For the dumplings:

Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, using a whisk, lightly beat the eggs, chives and buttermilk together; pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold. Mix just until the dough comes together; the batter should be thick and cake-like.

To prepare sauce: In a Dutch oven, over medium heat, add the butter and oil. Add the carrot, celery, garlic, and bay leaves and saute until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Continue to stir and cook for 2 minutes to coat the flour and remove the starchy taste. Slowly pour in the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Add frozen peas and pearl onions.

Let sauce simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Stir in heavy cream.

Fold the reserved shredded chicken into the sauce and bring up to a simmer. Using 2 spoons, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the hot mixture. The dumplings should cover the top of the sauce, but should not be touching or crowded. Let the dumplings poach for 10 to 15 minutes until they are firm and puffy. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season with freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with chopped chives before serving.